Mechanical digger.



A. M, GODVWN 32 5. N. WEAVER.

MECHANICAL BIGGER.

APPLICMLON FILED 1AN-25 yaend Aug. 23, M?.

LVI/ENTU.

A. M. GOODWEN L j. N. WEAVER.

MECHAIMCAL BIGGER.

l d 4 APPLUCATIOLI FILED IAN. 25. |917. m ypgr, aented Aug. 28, 1911.

\ 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 lu-u. A". ma?.

A. M. GOODWIN L J. N. WEAVER.

MECHANICAL BIGGER.

APPLucATloN FILED JAN.25.1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. IVI. GUWHN j. N. WEAVER.'

MECHANICAL BIGGER.

APPLlcATLoN FILED 1ML 2s, 1911.

4- SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Y JW m M ATTRNEX ADAM M. GOODWIN AND JEssE N. WEAVER, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANICAL BIGGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ang. 28, A9117.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that we, ADAM M. GOODWIN and JESSE N. WEAVER, of the city of Pittsbur h, in the county of Allegheny and State of ennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanical Diggers, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, reference being ing on the arc of a circle, to prevent interference of the excavator with trams on the had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating our invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on the lines c-c, c--c of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of a portion ofthe appa-` ratus, illustrating the excavator; Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section on the line y-Jy of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is an elevation illustrating the rear elevator; and Fig. 7 is a detached viewof the elevator leading from the excavator and of the central conveyer.

Our invention relates to apparatus for excavating material at the sides of railway tracks, for screening the material excavated, and for depositing or 'disposing of the same. It is speciallyY adapted to the cleaning and relaying of ballast at the sides of the track, which, from time to time, must be done in order to remove accumulations of dust and oinder, and also to correct irregularities due to displacement; and, although' we do notA desire to limit our inventionV to this use, we have shown in the drawings a form of apparatus designed for this purpose.

In the drawings we have shown an appa-y ratus consistingl substantially of a car A having trucks B adapted to travel on the rails of a'track, on which caris mounted one or more excavators, preferably one at each side of the car; which excavators are adapted to be raised and lowered vertically to regulate the depth of the excavation, and also to be swung to a position over the car, movadjoining track 'or with other obstacles. .It also consists in a screen, a series of conveyers and elevators, and operating mechanism and motors, all of which are mounted on the car and arranged to be operated by a minimum number of workmen.

We will now describe our invention so that others slnlled in the art may manufacture and use the same.

In the ldrawings we have shown a flat-car A, the trucks of which may be driven by an bein electric motor connected with the axle of the truck by suitable gears, power being transmitted to the motor from the dynamo 62 through the controller 63', the dynamo being driven by the steam engine 61 which 1s connected with the steam dome of a locomotive by a flexible hose 63, the locomotive being coupled to the car A to serve merely as a steam generator.

. At each side of the car is an excavator 2 which consists of a rotary drum having serrated blades and pockets adapted to cut into and lift the ballast, the drum being fixed to a shaft 5 which is journaled in a saddle 60', which is suspended from the swinging frame 23. Keyed to the shaft 5 is a sprocket wheel 3 which is connected with the sprocket wheel 4 by a chain 6, the wheel 4 being keyed to a shaft 7 which is mounted in the housing 7 fixed to the frame 23, the shafts 5 and 7 journaled in bars 2, which act as bearings for'the shafts. rlhe frame 23 is fixed to the hollow shaft 21, which shaft is journaled in housings 22 secured to the car A, thus forming a pivotal connection between the car and the frame. Keyed to the inner end of the shaft 7 is a miter wheel 8 which meshes with a miter wheel 8a which is keyed to the inclosed shaft 9. This shaft 9 is driven by the spiral gear 10 and the spiral 11, which spiral is fixed on the shaft 12, which is driven bythe gear 13, which meshes with the connecting ear 14 driven 9 and the excavator 2 to be thrown out of operation without stopping the motor.

Encircling the shaft 9 isthe hollow shaft 21 which is journaled in the housings 22 which are fixed to the/car, and fixed to the shaft 21 is the frame 23 which supports the excavator 2. Keyed to the shaft 21 is a spiral gear 24, which meshes with the' spiral 25 on the shaft of which is loosely mounted a spiral gear 26, which meshes with a spiral `27, which is keyed to one end of a shaft 28, at the other end of which shaft is a spiral gear 29, which meshes with a spiral gear 30, which is keyed to the shaft 12,- which, as has been stated, is driven by the gears 13, 14 and 15 by' the motor 17. The purpose of this is to enable the excavator to be swung upwardly over the car, moving on the arc of a circle, by the partial rotation of the shaft 21, the parts being thrown into operation by the clutch 64, which is brought into engagement with the gear 26 by the piston of the air cylinder 65, which is operated by the valve handle 66.

To enable the excavator 2 to be raised and lowered vertically to regulate the depth of the excavation, a screw 460 extends upwardly from the top of the saddle 60 through cavities in the upper and lower lips formed at the end of the arm 23n of the frame 23, and through a threaded nut 59 located between the two lips. The outer face of the nut 59 is provided with a spiral gear which meshes with a spiral 58 which is keyed to the shaft of the small motor 57. To permit of this vertical movement the journal boxes of the shaft 5 in the bars 2 should be loosely fitted in the bars.

As the ballast, or other material,l is excavated it is carried away by a series of conveyers and elevators. cavator 2 is a conveyer 31 one end of which is supported by the straps 31 connected with the bar 2 and the other end is supported by the driven shaft 8, thus allowing the conveyer to swing with the frame 23. In the rear of the discharge end of the lconveyer 31 is a short elevator or conveyer 32 which is mounted on the idler shaft 32 at one end, and on the driven shaft 32 at the other end, both of which shafts are journaled in bearings fixed to the frame of the car. The shafts 32, 32" are driven from the shafts 33a and 70 of the central conveyer 33 through the miter wheels 33b and 33, the shaft 33, and the miter wheels 33d and 33. Midway between the two excavators is the central conveyer 33 into which the conveyers 32 discharge. This conveyer 33 is mounted at one end on the shaft 33a and at the other end on the shaft 70, the shaft 33a being driven by the conveyer, and the .shaft by the shaft 67 of the elevator 34 through the gear wheels 68, 69 and 69. At the end of the conveyer 33 is an elevator 34 which is mounted on the shafts 67 and 48', the upper shaft 48 being driven by the sprocket 53 which is driven bythe motor 41 through the gears 42, 43,

shaft 44 and spiral gears 50, 52 and the Sprocket 53; the gear' 52 meshing with a spiral 50 .on the shaft 51 which carries the sprocket 53 which is connected by a chain with the sprocket 53 on the shaft 48. Below the upper end of the elevator 34 is the chute 35 at the bottom of which is a conveyer 46 which is driven by the shaft 47 which is provided with a sprocket and a chain leading to the sprocket 48 on the shaft 48. This chute 35 leads to the hopper 36 which discharges into the inclined drum-screen 37 which is supported'by rollers journaled in the standards 37', the screen being caused to revolve by the gear wheel 45 which meshes with the gear 45 which is driven by the gear 45 fixed to the shaft 44 which is driven from the motor 41 through the gears 43 and 42. The lower end of the drum 37 is open and arranged to deposit the ballast free from dust and cinder into the hopper 38 and chute 39 and thence on or at the sides of the track. Below the screen 37 is an inclined boot 39 which is adapted to receive the fine material, cinder and dust that passes through the mesh of the screen, and at the lower portion of this boot vis an elevator 40 which is mounted on an upper and a lower shaft, the upper shaft having a sprocket 56 which is driven by a chain extending to the sprocket 54 on the shaft 55, which shaft is driven by a sprocket 54 which is connected by a chain with the sprocket 53 on the shaft 51. Below the upper end of the elevator 40 is a swiveled hopper and chute 40 arranged to deposit the fine material either away from the track or on a car coupled to the car A.

The operation is as follows During the passage of the car A on the track of the railway, the excavators are in their raised position over thecar, as is indicated in Fig. 3 by the dotted lines, thus keeping them out of the way of obstacles at the side of the track. When, however, the car reaches its destination, the place where the excavating is to begin, the car A and the locomotive which has been pulling the car are brought to a stand, the operator moves the controller handle al which starts the motors 17, Vwhich puts the shafts 12 and 2,8 in motion, and also the worms 11 and 27, which drives the worm wheels 10 and 26. The air valve 66 is then moved to admit air into the cylinder 65, which moves the clutch 64 into the worm gear 26 and starts the shaft 25 on which is fixed theworm 25 which drives the worm wheel 24 fixed to the hollow shaft 21, which carries the frame of theA excavator 2, and as the shaft revolves, the excavator 2 is swung to the side of the car, whereupon the clutch is thrown out by reversing the air valve 66. The excavator is then lowered to the depth of the excavation desired by throwingthe switch tostart the motor 57 connected with the screw 60. To start the rotation of the excavator, the operator then moves the air valve 20 to admit air into the cylinder 19 and throw the clutch 1,8 vthus starting the shaft 9, gears 8 and 8a, and the shaft 7 which drives the gear 4, which is connected by the chain 6 to the gear 3 by which the excavator is driven. By means of the controller 63 the motor which drives the car is then started which drives the car iso rasato@ forward causin the teeth of the excavator to bite into the allast, at the same time the operator at the rear of the car starts the motor 41 which drives the'elevators 34 and 40, the revolving screen 37 and the conveyer 33. In passing curves in the track it becomes necessary to move one of the excavators outwardly in order to clear the ties, and this is done by swinging the frame 23 partially upward by throwing the clutch 64, as is shown' in Fig. 3.

By the use of our invention ditches may be excavated rapidly and eiiciently, and the ballast atk the sides of railways may be cleaned and relaid economically, three workmen being sucient to operate the apparatus. From the foregoing description these and the other advantages of our invention may be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

What we claim is:

1. In a mechanical digger, the combination of a railway car, a rotato excavator journaled in a saddle suspen ed from a swinging frame, a hollowv shaft to which the swinging frame is xed, a power shaft within the hollow shaft, devices connecting the power shaft with the driving mechanism of the excavator, devices for driving the hollow shaft, and devices for raising and lowering the excavator to regulate the depth .of the excavation.

2. In a mechanical digger, the combination of a railway car a rotatory excavator journaled in a saddle suspended from' a swinging frame, a power shaft journaled in bearings fixed to the car, an intermediate shaft journaled in bearings connected with the Swingin frame, miter wheels connecting the interme iate shaft with the power shaft, and a chain and sprockets for imparting power from the intermediate shaft to the excavator.

3. In amechanical digger, the combination of'a railway car a rotatory excavator journaled in a l saddle suspended from a swinging frame, a motor and connecting mechanism for imparting a rotatory movement to the excavator, connectin mechanismfor swinging the frame on t e arc of a circle, and a motor and mechanism for raising and lowering the excavator vertically to regulate the depth of the excavation.

4. llna mechanical digger, the combination of a railway car a rotatory excavator journaled in a saddle sus ended from a swinging frame, devices or raising and lowering the excavator vertically, a conveyer mounted at one end on the swinging frame and at the other to a driven shaft on the car, a power shaft, devices for connecting the power shaft with the excavator, devices for connecting the power shaft with the conveyer, devices for swinging the frame on the arc of a circle, a motor, and a clutch for throwing the power shaft in and out of connection with the motor.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

ADAM M. GODVVIN. JESSE N. WEAVER. Witnesses:

N. E. GANNON', 'llnoa E. Wma

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